


nothing to be afraid of (even when the night changes)

by lgbtrobed



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Crushes, Cuddling & Snuggling, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27674435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lgbtrobed/pseuds/lgbtrobed
Summary: Troy needs to be cuddled. That's about it.
Relationships: Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Comments: 23
Kudos: 166





	nothing to be afraid of (even when the night changes)

**Author's Note:**

> for the anon on tumblr who requested trobed cuddling in their bunks! hope you enjoy ❤️

It’s Abed’s turn on the top bunk. 

That’s perfectly fine, and fair, and Troy doesn’t mind at all. They’ve been doing this ever since they moved in; agreed that the top bunk is objectively cooler than the bottom and switched off every month.

And this month is Abed’s. And that’s  _ fine.  _

Except that the bottom bunk feels kind of… exposed. Troy has always liked the top bunk for the feeling of security, like nothing can bother him up there, like there’s no place for monsters to hide under his bed. And that hasn’t been a huge concern of his for a while, not since he was a kid. But sometimes fear creeps up on him in the night, cold dark tendrils slithering around his body and holding him hostage. Sometimes his brain isn’t all that nice to him, and the darkness doesn’t do it any favors.

...And sometimes, he and Abed watch a scary movie, and he plays cool like he’s supposed to until he slips into bed, where his body goes stiff and his eyes stay wide open. And then he’s not cool. Abed’s so much better at the scary stuff than he is, always has been. Troy has no idea how he does it.

Speaking of Abed, Troy hears him shifting around in his bed, which means he probably hasn’t fallen asleep yet. So he takes a deep breath and whispers, “Abed?”

“Hm?” Abed sounds about half-awake.  _ Good enough _ , Troy thinks.

“How long does rabies actually take to become murderous?”

There’s a short pause before Abed answers. “Troy,” his voice is muffled, like maybe he’s doing that adorable thing where he falls asleep hugging his pillow with his face smushed into it. “Are you still thinking about  _ Cujo?”  _

“Maybe,” Troy says, which is a stupid and obvious lie. Abed doesn’t respond, probably just waiting for Troy to give a real answer, so he does. “Yes,” he sighs, and bites his lip hoping that the emotion doesn’t come through in his voice. “How is it fair that something so gentle can turn so vicious through no fault of its own that it has to be killed? Who even thinks of that? Where does Stephen King get off?”

Okay, he’s a little choked up and it shows. There’s another quiet moment where Troy isn’t sure if Abed’s thinking of an answer or if he’s fallen asleep, but he eventually does speak up again.

“Troy? Do you wanna come up here?”

He scrambles out of bed without another word, climbing up to the top bunk and then crawling in. Abed looks at him with tired but genuine eyes, and he  _ is  _ in fact doing his adorable pillow-hug thing, and Troy immediately feels better just being next to him. 

“It’s just a movie,” Abed says quietly. 

Troy furrows his eyebrows and lays down beside him, their knees touching as they face each other. “You hate it when people say that.”

“Yeah,” Abed yawns a little, “I do. But I’ll say it if it’ll help you sleep.”

“Doesn’t work as well if you immediately admit that you don’t mean it,” Troy points out. Abed yawns again. 

“Okay, well… will you fall asleep if I hold you?”

For a second, Troy thinks maybe he hasn’t heard him properly. His cheeks warm up, because it’s not like cuddling with Abed isn’t something he’s wanted to do before. It wouldn’t be that weird of a next step; they hug, pat each other on the back, and they have their handshake. They’ve touched each other plenty, just like any two best friends. 

The thing is, the repressed desire he has to crawl into Abed’s arms and fall asleep there doesn’t really feel like a just-friends thing. Not with the way his heart races when he thinks about them tangled up together, warm bodies pressed against each other. Troy feels like he could melt just thinking about it. Thinking about how once Abed holds him, Troy’s going to want to nuzzle him. And once he nuzzles him, he’s going to want to kiss him. And once he kisses him, he can’t keep pretending that he’s not  _ desperately _ in love with the best friend he’s ever had, that— 

“Troy?” Abed’s voice pulls him out of his own head. “You’re not saying anything and I can’t see your face. Would it help if I said that you cuddling with me wouldn’t make me doubt your heterosexuality?”

Ah. Yes. Heterosexuality. That’s a whole thing too, isn’t it. Because if he’s in love with Abed, then that means he’s not straight, and then that’s a whole  _ other  _ can of worms— 

“No,” he says quickly, then furrows his eyebrows. “I mean, yes? I mean… I don’t know. I mean I’m not worried about you doubting my heterosexuality. I mean… because there’s nothing wrong with being not heterosexual. Obviously. You know that. I just want you to know that I know. Because I’d be a really bad friend if I didn’t. Because you… I mean, you’re bi and you’re also my favorite person ever. You and your sexuality, you’re both great. Um.”

He stops talking upon realizing that he hasn’t really answered Abed’s question at all. In fact, he’s kind of just dug himself into a very embarrassing hole. 

“Troy,” Abed sighs.  _ Sighs.  _ Is it a good sigh or a bad sigh? Since when does Abed sigh? That’s a dumb question, of course Abed’s sighed before. Many times. He’s human. But this sigh feels particularly high stakes.

He keeps his tone as absolutely nonchalant as possible when he hums back. “Hm?”

“Just come here.”

Okay. Yes. Thank god. 

He shuffles in closer without another word.

“Turn over,” Abed says gently, and Troy obeys again.

His stomach does somersaults when he feels Abed curl up behind him, draping his arm around Troy’s waist and spooning him close. So his prediction had been right. He loves this, and not in a platonic way. 

“Okay?” Abed asks.

Troy makes a vaguely affirmative noise. 

“Good,” Abed mumbles. He sounds sleepy again, resting his forehead against Troy’s shoulder. “Think you can fall asleep now?”

_ Absolutely not.  _

“Yeah,” he lies. “Thanks, buddy.”

“Mhm. Night, Troy.”

“Night, Abed.”

The rise and fall of Abed’s chest against his back begins to deepen and even out, warm breaths puffing over Troy’s neck as he drifts off to sleep.

Yeah, he’s definitely going to be up all night... but maybe that’s okay. Maybe he has a lot to think about. 

He might as well be wrapped up in Abed’s arms while he does.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!
> 
> i ❤️ comments
> 
> find me/talk to me on tumblr @[lgbtrobed](https://lgbtrobed.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [[reblog link](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/lgbtrobed/635521290117267456)]


End file.
